Well, I´m 15, just started riding last year. Got my mother´s old bike, an ´81 Yamaha XT250. I´ve had loads of funs as I have a fairly long, curvy driveway. I put about 10-15 miles on my bike a week, riding after school. Anyway, looking forward to getting my motorbike permit this summer. XT 250 is a great starter bike, although getting a bit small for me (I´m 6 ft). Enough power to have fun, not enough to get into serious trouble. When I got the bike I let my sister ride it. Bad idea. She dropped it doing about 15 in our yard, and it slammed into a small tree and dented the tank and tore the plastic around the throttle and brake cables. Still runs great though, starts up first kick.